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| Marlene A Eilers Koenig Collection. |
February 7, 1965
Prince Michael of Greece today married Miss Marina Karella, a Greek commoner. The Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony took place in the Athens palace ballroom where a "mobile chapel had been erected in the ballroom." This chapel had been "consecrated for the veteran Greek Navy cruiser Averoff."
Marina Karella is the heiress "to a vast industrial fortune," according to The Times. She is in her own right a "talented artist."
King Constantine II was the best man. The wedding was described as a "close family affair."
As Miss Karella is a commoner, Prince Michael renounced his rights and the rights of his descendants to the Greek throne " before obtaining the king's permission to marry a commoner. His wife will not have a royal title. She will be known as "Marina, the consort of Prince Michael."
The 25-year-old bride was given away by her father, a well-known textile manufacturer." She studied art in Athens and Paris and has "gained a reputation as a successful stage designer for Athenian theatres." She wore a "silk gown in Empire style with a 10ft long veil edged with Brussels lace, " designed by Jacques Heime of Paris The veil was held in place "by an eighteenth-century diamond and pearl tiara."
Prince Michael, 26, currently serves in the Greek army but has said that he will resign his commission to "pursue his studies to obtain a doctorate in political science.
He is the son of the late Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark and the late Princess Francoise of Orléans.
It was on October 19th when King Constantine II gave his permission for Michael and Marina to marry. At the time, Michael was third in line to the throne, after Crown Princess Irene, the king's younger sister.
The guests at the wedding included Queen Anne Marie, Crown Princess Irene, Princess Katherine and her husband, Major Richard Brandram, Princess Andrew, and Queen Frederika, who "escorted the bridegroom to the altar. The Times also noted "that members of the French nobility attended, " including the Count and Countess of Paris.
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| Princess Francoise |
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| Prince Christopher and Princess Francoise |
Michael was only a year old when his father, Prince Christopher died. After his mother died in 1853, Michael lived with his uncle, the Count of Paris, and his family until he moved to Athens for compulsory military service. He and Marina share a common interest in the theater, and met when she was "in charge of designs for a production of Gogel, "The Diary of a Madman."
The couple had no plans for a honeymoon and would live in Michael's home in Ekali, 11 miles north of Athens.
https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2024/07/hrh-prince-michael-of-greece-and.html
https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-funeral-of-prince-michael-of-greece.html
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